Spread the Word to End the word

Before going to Eastern, I had never heard of Best Buddies, nor did I ever think it would make such a big impact on my life. But something about the program intrigued me and just like any good freshman should I went to the first meeting. Needless to say, I sorta fell in the love with the program. Best Buddies at Eastern Michigan is essentially a friendship program that pairs college students (college buddies) with college age students (buddies) with intellectual disabilities. The program bridges gaps and works to promote an inclusive and accepting society. Best Buddies even says that their vision is to put Best Buddies out of business! {because we don't need a program to establish these friendships for us!}.

Because I didn't have much experience around people with intellectual disabilities I was hesitant to get a buddy of my own, so I signed up to be an associate member. I attended as meeting as I could, but unfortunately my volunteering and work schedule made it so I haven't been able to go to any events since the fall {sad face!}. But this hasn't stopped me from supporting Best Buddies!

Enough background information though, the real purpose for this post is Spread the Word to End the Word! Today is national {international?} awareness day for my absolute favorite organization! I discovered "Spread to End" through Best Buddies and have been a dedicated supporter ever since. {I am even doing a persuasive speech on the movement for my speech class, but more on that another time}

"Spread to End" is a pledge based organization that strongly supports the elimination of the derogatory use of the word "retard" or "retarded" in our speech.

I pledged because at Best Buddies I heard first hand how the r-word hurts the Buddies. This form of bullying made me feel so sad {and a bit angry with society to be honest}, and I never wanted any one to ever feel that type of sadness again.

This is where you readers come in... go to the r-word.org and pledge and encourage others to do the same. It takes about 10 seconds of your time, but the physical act of pledging is a great reminder to think before we speak and be careful about what message the words we use say.